Dhruba Acharya | Kathmandu University (original) (raw)

Papers by Dhruba Acharya

The incidence of urinary tract infections (UTIs) is common in both diabetic and non diabetic pati... more The incidence of urinary tract infections (UTIs) is common in both diabetic and
non diabetic patients. Since the microorganisms causing UTI vary in their susceptibility to
antimicrobials from place to place and time to time, hence constant screening of trends
and susceptibility pattern of predominant organisms against antimicrobials is essential.
The study aims to determine the spectrum of uropathogens and antibiotic sensitivity
pattern in both diabetic and non diabetic patients with clinically suspected UTI .A prospective
cross sectional study was conducted during period of February 2013 to July 2013 among
90 diabetic and 90 non diabetic patients attending Dhulikhel Hospital-Kathmandu University
Hospital, Dhulikhel, Kavre (DH-KUH). All samples and isolates were investigated by standard
laboratory procedures. A total of 55 (30.5%) samples showed significant growth. No
significant difference among culture positivity rate was noted between diabetic and non
diabetic patients (34.5% Vs 26.7%). Escherichia coli was the most frequent organism (64.5%
in diabetic and 66.7% non diabetic) followed by Klebsiella sps (22.6% in diabetic and 12.5%
in non diabetic). Gentamycin and nitrofurantoin were highly sensitive to E. coli isolated in
diabetic patients among the tested antimicrobials followed by cotrimoxazole, norfloxacin
and ciprofloxacin. Least sensitivity rate was observed with ampicillin and cephalexin.
However, no difference was noted on the sensitivity pattern of the antimicrobials among
E. coli isolated between diabetic and non diabetic patients.In this study high proportion
of gram negative bacilli with predominant uropathogen being E. coli was noted. Irrespective
of the status of diabetes, Staphylococcus sps and Pseudomonas sps were not isolated from
UTI patients in our study. The isolation of organisms and their resistance pattern was almost
similar between diabetic and non diabetic patients.

The intracellular bacterium Coxiella burnetii is a dual pathogen of domestic ruminants and humans... more The intracellular bacterium Coxiella burnetii is a dual pathogen of domestic ruminants and humans. Outbreaks of infection in cattle may have public health implications for the resident population of regional and rural Queensland, home to the Australian beef industry. The ensuing disease, so-called Q fever, causes abortion in livestock, and, if transmitted to humans by inhalation of aerosols, either a mild yet debilitating acute flu-like illness or, rarely, chronic life-threating respiratory complications. The recent recognition of high seroprevalence rates in putatively low-risk communities has compounded a growing concern over inadequate implementation of effective disease control measures. Concurrently, in order to meet increasing present and future consumer demands for high-quality beef, cattle farmers are seekingoptimized reproductive performance and rapid weight gain. In vitro fertilization of elite animals is considered to represent the best option to introduce such highly desirable genetic traits into commercial cattle herds. In so doing, resistance to C. burnetii infection may similarly be engineered in cattle by the advancement of genome editing technology.

The role of TORCH infections as a cause of spontaneous abortions is still debatable with conflict... more The role of TORCH infections as a cause of spontaneous abortions is still debatable with conflicting results where geographical variation may play a significant role. This study was undertaken to discover the association of TORCH infections in women with spontaneous abortions by serological testing. The descriptive case control study was conducted from January to December, 2012. A serological evaluation was carried out to determine the presence of Toxoplasma gondii, Rubella, Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies, using commercial diagnostic kits by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Mean age of the study and control subjects were 24.8+/-6.4 and 23.8+/-3.8 years respectively where 72.8% of the study subjects were of the age between 20 to 35 years and 23% of the women with spontaneous abortion were below 20 years. Most of the cases were of incomplete abortions (43%) followed by complete abortions (26%). Only 1.3% of both IgG and IgM seropositivity against TORCH agents were noted among the study subjects whereas highest IgG seropositivity was detected with Rubella (86.8%) followed by HSV-I (72.8%). An infection susceptibility rate of 77.9% to Toxoplasma gondii, 11.7% to Rubella, 51.9% to CMV,.4% to HSV-II was noted. No significant difference in relation to age and type of abortion was found in seropositivity between the study and the control subjects. This study, probably the first of its kind from Nepal, suggests that current infection with TORCH agents might not be the possible etiology of spontaneous abortion. Serological TORCH screening may not be conclusive.

The pathogenic role of Salmonella infection in the development of human diseases and the impact o... more The pathogenic role of Salmonella infection in the development of human diseases and the impact of resistance on the clinical outcome stimulated the search for newer treatments and natural products that could provide alternative therapies against typhoid fever caused by this intracellular pathogen. Scopoletin has been reported for its anti-inflammatory activity and various other mechanisms underlying intracellular signaling pathways. We aim to determine the in vitro effect of scopoletin in intracellular survival of S. typhi in U937 human macrophage cell line. The LDH releasing assay was used to assess the cytotoxicity of scopoletin and quantified colorimetrically with a CytoTox96 LDH-release kit (Promega, USA).

Viral infections during pregnancy carry a risk for intrauterine transmission which may result in ... more Viral infections during pregnancy carry a risk for intrauterine transmission which may result in fetal damage. Bad obstetric history implies for previous unfavorable foetal outcome in terms of two or more consecutive spontaneous abortions, history of intrauterine foetal death, intrauterine growth retardation, still birth, early neonatal death and congenital anomalies. Cytomegalovirus, a ubiquitous virus belonging to the herpes family, is known to cause abnormal fetal outcome. We aim to determine the possible involvement of CMV infection among pregnant women with bad obstetric history MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross sectional study was carried out among 136 women with bad obstetric outcome attending Dhulikhel Hospital-Kathmandu University Hospital. The cytomegalovirus specific IgG and IgM antibodies were determined by ELISA test. Data were analyzed using SPSS, version 17.0 and interpreted according to frequency distribution and percentage. The data was considered significant if the p-value was <0.05.

Monitoring the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi) ... more Monitoring the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi) is important for efficiently managing cases of typhoid fever. In this study, the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of 114 S. Typhi isolates, which were collected from a university hospital in Nepal during July 2009-December 2010, were investigated by disc diffusion assays. All of the S. Typhi isolates were sensitive to amoxycillin-clavulanic acid. More than 95z of the isolates were sensitive to chloramphenicol, ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, and cotrimoxazole. In addition, 1.7z of the studied isolates showed multiple drug resistance patterns. Of the 40 S. Typhi isolates, 32 strains (80z) showed nalidixic acid (NA) resistance with decreased susceptibility to ciprofloxacin (CIP). Importantly, we found the simultaneous presence of NA resistance and decreased susceptibility to CIP, suggesting that the resistance to NA is a reliable indicator of decreased CIP susceptibility (sensitivity, 97.5z; specificity, 100.0z). Furthermore, the sequencing of NA-resistant S. Typhi isolates showed a predominant amino acid alteration in the quinolone resistance-determining region (QRDR) of gyrA gene at position 83 from SerªPhe. Two isolates with resistance to both CIP and NA had a double-mutation (Ser83ªPhe and Asp87ªAsn) in the QRDR of the gyrA gene, of which one had an additional amino acid mutation (Ser80ªIlu) in the QRDR of the parC gene.